Knife with removable blade

ABSTRACT

A KNIFE COMPRISING A BLADE-RETAINING MEMBER A BLADE REMOVABLY MOUNTED IN SAID RETAINING MEMBER AND A CAP PROVIDED TO EXPOSABLY SHIELD SAID BLADE REMOVABLY MOUNTED IN SAID RETAINING MEMBER.

Sept. 28, 1971 R. LEVIN 3,608,195

KNIFE WITH REMOVABLE BLADE Filed March 19, 1969 l6 /4 2g 24 34 2a /8 42 22 20 INVENTOR.

HA 1.. PI] LEVIN BY F I G 5 \mxfli lA b1 41 ttorneys United States Patent 3,608,195 KNIFE WITH REMOVABLE BLADE Ralph Levin, 402 Knickerbocker Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11237 Filed Mar. 19, 1969, Ser. No. 808,610 Int. Cl. B26b 29/02 US. Cl. 30-162 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A knife comprising a blade-retaining member a blade removably mounted in said retaining member and a cap provided to exposably shield said blade removably mounted in said retaining member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates generally to knives and more particularly to a knife with a removable blade.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART A variety of pocket knives are, of course, available. There are also known many varieties of knives used for precision work such as carving and 'whittling. Some are equipped with removable knife blades as well. However, there is no knife available today with a removable blade which blade can be a standard injector type razor blade commercially available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, among one of the principle objectives of the invention to provide a knife with a removable blade which blade can be a standard injector type razor blade commercially available on the market.

In accord with the invention, there is provided a knife comprising a blade-retaining member, a blade removably mounted in said retaining member and a cap provided to exposably shield said blade.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: FIG. 1 is a side view showing the inventive knife.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows and showing the knife blade in a position to be exposed through the cap of the knife, according to a specific embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the blade exposed and ready for use with the cap removed and inserted on the back end of the knife.

FIG. 4 is a partially sectional side view showing the blade in a shielded position and not exposable for use through the cap.

FIG. 5 is a fragmented sectional View of the front end of the knife showing the blade as exposed through the cap in accord with the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an end diagrammatic view further illustrating the details of FIG. 4 wherein the blade is shown in a non-exposable position.

FIG. 7 is an end diagrammatic view further illustrating the details of FIG. 5 with the cap arranged so that the blade is in the exposed position through the cap.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail, there is shown therein a knife 10, constructed according to the invention, comprising a blade-retaining member 12, a blade 14 with cutting edge 15 removably mounted therein and a cap 16 which selves as a shield for the blade 14, but is also adapted to expose the blade for use, as will be more fully described hereinbelow. The various parts of knife 10 may be of metal or plastic (except for the blade which is of a suitable metal, such as stainless steel), preferably metal and still more preferably aluminum.

The blade-retaining member 12 further comprises a generally cylindrical main housing 18, a base portion 20 provided at the rear end 22 thereof, and a chuck 24 for removably receiving the blade 14 provided at the front end 26 thereof. As mentioned, main housing 18 is of generally cylindrical design with a central bore 28 provided therein; however, towards the front end 26 the bore 28 tapers outwardly as at 30, in counter-sunk fashion, and the chuck 24 is associatingly sized and shaped to be smoothly, abuttingly received in this tapered portion 30. Chuck 24 is of a construction consisting of a head portion 32, provided with a generally centrally longitudinally disposed slot 34 for receiving the blade 14, and a shank portion 36 integrally merged with said head portion. Shank portion 36 is sided so that it will 'be received inside bore 28, in spaced relation therewith, the shank 36 extending towards the rear end 22 of the main housing 18. Secured to the end 38 of shank 36 is a longitudinally oriented cylindrical shaft 40, at least a portion of which is threaded as at 42, preferably an intermediate portion.

Accordingly, base portion 20, of generally cylindrical shape, having a larger diameter portion 46 and a smaller diameter portion 48, is provided with a generally central bore 50, in registry with threaded shaft 42, and which is at least partially associatingly internally threaded as at 52, preferably at its smaller diameter portion 48. Smaller diameter portion 48 of base 20 is sized to be concentrically received within bore 28 of the main housing. Thus, with the chuck 24, its shank 36 and shaft 40, in place, inside bore 28, the base 20 is adapted to be threaded over associating threaded shaft 42 via its own internally threaded bore 52. It becomes clear then, asthe base 20 is threaded over the shaft 42, that the chuck 24 is resultingly tightly wedged against the wall of tapered bore 30, the taper of chuck 24 and bore 30 being in association, as earlier mentioned. The wedging force, in turn, tends to compress the head of the chuck 32 forcing slot 34 together so that a blade held in said slot will be tightly held thereby. Therefore, in order to removably mount a blade 14 inside the blade-receiving slot 34, the base 20 is loosened by turning it in reverse fashion, the chuck 24 is resultingly released from its wedge securement with the walls of tapered bore 30, and a blade 14 is placed inside slot 34 which is suitably sized to receive it. The blade is then secured in place by tightening the base (see FIG. 2), as described immediately above. The position of the blade 14 may also be adjusted within slot 34 in order to vary the blade length exposure.

Blade 14 may be any suitable sharp blade sized to fit inside slot 34; however, it is a feature of the invention that an injector-type stainless steel razor blade, which is commercially available over the counter, be employed as the cutting element. Thus, the problem of supply of sharp blades is minimized since they need not be specifically manufactured to order, but are rather readily purchased on the market.

A cap 16 which serves as a shield for the blade 14, when the knife is not in use, or carried in the pocket of the user, is provided which is of a generally cylindrical shape, being open at one end 54 and partially closed at the other end 56 thereof in a manner to be more fully described subsequently. Cap 16 is sized so that it will slidingly fit over the end 26 of main housing 18, in tight but not immovable relation. When it is desirous to expose the blade and use the knife, the cap 16 may be removed and slipped over the base 20 (FIG. 3). Alternatively, the cap 16 is adapted so that it may remain in place over the end of the main housing 18 and yet the blade 14 may be exposed for use (FIGS. 5 and 7). This is accomplished by providing an elongated bore 60 in a generally central location in the end 56 of the cap, the bore being of a size sufficient to allow passage of blade 14 therethrough, when the elongated bore 60 and blade 14 are in registered relationship. When this registered relationship is obtained (FIG. 2) by circularly manipulating the cap 16 around the end 26 of the main housing, the cap 16 is slid rearwardly over main housing 18, in the direction of base 20, until the blade is exposed to its desired length. A pair of parallel gripping aids 62 may be provided along the outside Wall 64 of the cap to aid in the manipulation of the cap, the gripping aids being roughened to facilitate this further. In this instance, when the knife is no longer in use, the cap 16 is pulled back in a shielding position over the blade 14, as aforementioned, and in order to prevent accidental exposure of the blade, the cap is given a one-quarter turn thereby displacing the registered relationship of the blade 14 and elongated bore 60. In this condition, the blade cannot now be even acci dentally exposed (FIGS. 4 and 6) and the knife can be safely carried in the pocket.

I claim:

1. A knife comprising an elongated blade, a main housing provided with front and rear ends, said housing being generally cylindrical in shape and hollow to define a central bore, a generally cylindrical rotatable base member provided at said housing rear end, a portion of said base member extending concentrically into said housing bore, a blade holder disposed in said housing bore, said blade holder comprising a chuck member secured to a shaft member, said chuck member including a head portion extending outwardly from said housing front end and a shank portion disposed within said housing bore in spaced rela tion therewith between said head portion and said shaft member, said head portion being tapered and wedgingly disposed in an abutting relationship against walls of said bore adjacent to said housing front end with an exposed part of said head portion being larger than said bore, slot means generally centrally longitudinally disposed in said head and shank portions of said chuck member for removably receiving said blade at any selected position along said slot means in order to obtain a desired blade length exposure, one end of said blade being disposed Within said housing with an opposite end of said blade extending outwardly from said head portion in a direction away from said housing, and thread means securing said shaft memher to said base member portion in a threaded engagement therebetween for moving said chuck member head portion towards said bore to be wedgingly disposed against said walls of said bore when said base member is turned to resultingly hold said blade in a secure mounting relationship within said chuck member in one selected position.

2. A knife according to claim 1, wherein said blade is an injector-type razor blade.

3. A knife according to claim 2, wherein a cap is provided to exposably shield said blade, said cap being detachably slidingly engageable with said main housing, said cap being open at one end thereof, said cap being of size to fit over either end of said housing.

4. A knife according to claim 3, wherein an end of said cap opposite said open end thereof is provided with opening means registrable with said mounted blade when said cap is slidingly fitted over the front end of said housing thereby rendering said blade exposable through said cap.

5. A knife according to claim 4, wherein said opening means are disposable in non-registry with said mounted blade thereby adapting said knife to be stored in safe condition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 790,234 5/1905 Waldo 30l51X 1,749,236 3 /193 O Stringfellow 30151 2,288,555 6/1942 Jacques 30-451 2,746,147 5/1956 Booth 30l5 1X FOREIGN PATENTS 486,823 9/1952 Canada 30-151 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner J. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 30293 

